A name isn’t just a label – it’s the front door to your brand, product, or service. It creates the first impression for your customers and can heavily influence how they perceive value, quality, and even relevance. Getting the name right can boost recognition and customer connection. Getting it wrong can cause confusion or even push buyers away.

This is where naming research comes in. Through surveys and concept testing, businesses can gather consumer reactions to potential name options before launching to market. Proper testing reveals which names are most clear, memorable, and emotionally resonant – as well as which may cause unintended associations or be easily forgotten.

Key reasons to test names and terminology:

• Clarity: Ensures your audience understands what the name represents.
• Relevance: Tests whether the name feels aligned with the product’s purpose or industry.
• Emotional connection: Reveals whether the name triggers the desired reaction or feeling.
• Distinctiveness: Identifies names that stand out – and don’t confuse your product with competitors.
• Cultural fit: Helps avoid terms with negative connotations or misunderstandings across markets.

Without research-led insight, teams may accidentally select names that are too generic, unclear, or fail to resonate with their target audience. And while internal teams may feel confident about a name they've brainstormed, data from consumers can challenge assumptions in a productive way.

Today, many organizations turn to DIY research tools like SurveyMonkey to gather this feedback. These platforms make it simple to run a name testing survey at speed and scale. However, naming is nuanced – and capturing the right feedback requires intentional design and expert interpretation. Just because your tool is easy to use doesn’t mean every survey will deliver meaningful insight.

To truly evaluate naming effectiveness, it helps to bring in experienced professionals – like SIVO’s On Demand Talent – who know how to design surveys that uncover clarity, uniqueness, and positive associations. Whether you’re testing terminology for a new tech feature or refining product names in a global launch, well-designed naming research keeps your strategy grounded in real consumer insight.

While tools like SurveyMonkey offer a quick and accessible way to conduct naming research, running an effective name testing survey requires more than dragging and dropping question types. Common issues often arise when businesses rush to gather feedback without a thoughtful plan or expert input. These missteps can result in misleading data, wasted time, and ultimately, poor naming decisions.

Here are some of the most frequent pitfalls teams encounter – and how to avoid them:

1. Using Names That Are Too Similar

When name options look or sound alike (e.g., "FlexiPro" and "FlexiMax"), survey respondents may struggle to tell the difference. This can lead to flat or inconclusive results, where no option emerges as a clear winner. To improve signal clarity, ensure each tested name is unique enough in structure, tone, or root word.

2. Not Testing for Understanding

A name might sound catchy, but if consumers don’t understand what it represents, it can quickly lose impact. One of the biggest oversights in naming research is not including questions that assess clarity. Ask respondents how they interpret the name or what they think it describes – this helps ensure the name communicates the right idea.

3. Over-Focusing on “Which Name Do You Like Best?”

While preference matters, it's just one piece of the puzzle. Good naming research should look at multiple dimensions: clarity, uniqueness, emotional tone, and relevance. Leading with a simple favorite-name question can oversimplify decision-making and ignore crucial context.

4. Ignoring Emotional Associations

Names carry meaning – sometimes more than we realize. Without testing for feelings or associations, a name could unintentionally trigger a negative or unrelated impression. Consider including open-ended questions like, "What comes to mind when you hear this name?" to surface emotional responses and unspoken biases.

5. Running Surveys Without Strategy

A fast survey may seem appealing, but without a clear research objective or audience lens, brands risk collecting surface-level data. Who's your target customer? What's the role of the name – functional clarity or emotional branding? Thoughtful input from insights professionals can help ensure surveys align with business goals.

This is where SIVO’s On Demand Talent can add immediate value. These are seasoned consumer insights experts who know how to design naming studies that go beyond the obvious and avoid common traps. Unlike freelancers or general marketing contractors, On Demand Talent are trained researchers who understand how to frame questions, gather quality data, and guide decision-makers with confidence.

By combining the speed of DIY tools like SurveyMonkey with expert design and analysis, teams get reliable results they can act on – and names they can stand behind. With growing pressure on internal teams to do more with less, a flexible expert partner can help maintain quality while moving fast.

When you’re running a name testing survey in SurveyMonkey, it’s critical to go beyond just asking “Which name do you like best?” Effective naming research also uncovers how clearly the name communicates, what associations it brings to mind, and how different it is from competitors. These three areas – clarity, associations, and uniqueness – are essential to finding a name that sticks with your audience.

Clarity: Is Your Name Easy to Understand?

Clarity refers to whether the audience immediately understands what the name is referencing. In a name testing survey, this often gets overlooked. Respondents may rank names without fully grasping them, leading to misleading results.

To evaluate clarity effectively in SurveyMonkey, include specific follow-up questions like:

• “What do you think this name refers to?”
• “On a scale of 1–5, how clear is this name to you?”

These questions help flag terminology that may be confusing, overly technical, or unfamiliar.

Associations: What Feelings or Images Does the Name Trigger?

Another common mistake in terminology testing is not assessing emotional or conceptual associations. Different names may carry very different implications for customers, even if they feel similar to you internally.

Use open-ended or multiple-choice questions to explore this, such as:

• “What is the first word or emotion that comes to mind when you see this name?”
• “Which of these attributes would you associate with this name: Modern, Traditional, Trustworthy, Bold?”

By understanding the subconscious perceptions tied to each name, you’ll avoid choosing options that unintentionally signal the wrong ideas.

Uniqueness: Will This Name Stand Out?

Even if a name is clear and has positive associations, it might not be strong enough if it fails to differentiate itself. A common issue in DIY market research is including name options that are too similar – making it difficult for respondents to spot key differences.

To evaluate uniqueness in SurveyMonkey:

• Ask “How different does this name feel compared to brands you’ve seen before?”
• Use ranking or forced-choice questions to sharpen distinctions.

Simple fictional example: A company testing three names like “DailyBoost,” “BoostUp,” and “PowerBoost” may find respondents struggle to distinguish between them. This leads to low confidence insights. Better to include names with clearer thematic variation.

By structuring your name testing surveys to tap into clarity, associations, and uniqueness, you can feel more confident that your insights reflect real consumer reactions – not just surface-level preferences.

DIY platforms like SurveyMonkey have made it easier than ever to test naming ideas – but easy doesn’t always mean effective. Without the right survey structure and research experience, even well-intentioned naming research can lead to misleading results or missed insights. That’s where expert support comes in.

The Risk: Getting Data That Looks Good – But Isn’t Actionable

Many teams enter DIY research with enthusiasm, but overlook nuances that shape data quality. Common market research problems in naming surveys include:

• Leading or biased question wording
• Too many similar name options, making comparisons unclear
• Neglecting to test for meaning or emotional response
• Targeting the wrong audience segment unintentionally

Without the guidance of experienced researchers, teams risk investing in naming research that looks comprehensive but fails to drive good decisions.

What Experts Bring to the Table

Consumer insights experts – like those in SIVO’s On Demand Talent network – have run hundreds of studies across industries, audiences, and product types. They know how to design research that uncovers the “why” behind customer preferences, not just the “what.”

When brought into a SurveyMonkey project, an expert can:

• Identify gaps in your current name testing survey design
• Refine questions to get you more actionable data
• Ensure your terms are phrased in language your audience will understand
• Recommend alternative name options if existing ones are too generic

It's not about replacing your DIY tool – it’s about mastering it. And having the right insight professional by your side can mean the difference between naming success and an unnoticed release.

Blending DIY Speed with Human Expertise

The best naming research often strikes a balance. Tools like SurveyMonkey let you test and iterate quickly, but pairing with expert guidance ensures those efforts stay aligned with your positioning and brand strategy. Especially in name testing, where emotional nuance matters, trained insight professionals can help interpret feedback in context.

Ultimately, well-supported brand name testing helps you make deliberate, confident decisions – rather than going with the name that “sounds nice.”

DIY naming research using platforms like SurveyMonkey is powerful – when used correctly. But for many teams, there are clear signs it’s time to tap into expert support. This doesn’t mean hiring a full agency or bringing on a permanent researcher. Instead, flexible solutions like SIVO’s On Demand Talent can help you fill critical gaps and push your project forward with precision.

Recognizing Signals That You Need Support

You may benefit from bringing in On Demand Talent when:

• Your survey results feel conflicting or inconclusive
• You’re unsure how to turn open-ended responses into insights
• You’re stuck choosing between a few strong names with no clear winner
• You’ve launched name testing surveys before that didn’t shift strategy
• Your team lacks experience with consumer insights tools and setup

These aren’t failures – they’re common challenges. Over time, companies testing names or product terminology often reach the limits of what DIY tools alone can provide.

How On Demand Talent Amplifies Your Team

SIVO’s On Demand Talent offering connects you with experienced insights professionals who integrate directly into your existing team or project. Whether you need short-term advisory support or more hands-on research execution, these experts can bring structure, clarity, and speed to your work.

What sets them apart from freelancers or consultants?:

• They’re vetted professionals with years of naming research and SurveyMonkey experience
• Matched based on your needs – from creative concept testing to strategic naming strategy
• Embedded flexibly, without the long timelines or overhead of hiring

Fictional example: A food & beverage startup using SurveyMonkey gets early name preference data, but struggles to decide between two core naming directions. By working with an On Demand Talent specialist, they revisit their terminology testing to better understand associations – revealing that one name builds consumer trust far more effectively in their category.

Building Long-Term Capabilities Through Flexible Help

Beyond the project at hand, On Demand Talent helps your team gain the confidence and skills to manage future name testing surveys more effectively. They’re not just support – they’re a short-term investment in long-term capability.

So while DIY research tools are a great starting point, knowing when to add human expertise is what turns naming data into brand decisions that truly resonate.